Polybius

Polybius (c. 200-c. 120 bc), Greek historian, born in Megalopolis. He was one of the thousand noble Achaeans who, after the conquest of Macedonia in 168 bc, were sent to Rome as hostages. At Rome, Polybius was received into the home of the Roman general Lucius Aemilius Paulus and became the tutor of his two sons, the younger of whom was adopted into the Scipio family, becoming known as Scipio Africanus the Younger. Scipio and Polybius became close friends. In 151 bc, after 16 years in Italy, the surviving Achaean exiles were permitted by the Roman Senate to return to Greece. Polybius, however, soon rejoined Scipio, followed him in his African campaign, and was present at the sack of Carthage in 146 bc which marked the end of the Punic Wars. At the outbreak of the war between the Achaeans and the Romans Polybius returned to Greece, where he was able to use his influence with the Romans to procure favourable terms for the vanquished.

The latter part of his life was devoted to the composition of his great work, Universal History in 40 books. His aim was to show how and why the civilized countries of the world fell under the dominion of Rome. The work covers the period between 264 and 146 bc, the year that Corinth fell. Only the first five books survive, but the plan of the whole work is known. As a historian Polybius tried not merely to list facts and events but to discover the underlying causes behind them and to draw lessons for the future. His tone is frequently didactic, and the continuity of his narrative is often interrupted by digressions. His style is simple and clear. In the history of Greek literature his work is significant because it is written in the so-called common dialect, a modified Attic, which came into use about 300 bc.